The first World Cup that I watched with any real interest was the 1970 tournament in Mexico, which was relatively untainted by controversy, except of course the Bobby Moore bracelet incident. The England captain was accused of stealing the jewellery from a hotel shop in Bogotá, Colombia, just before the World Cup in what was believed to be a frame-up to disrupt the team.
Since then, World Cup tournaments have increasingly been
marked with controversy. The 1978 tournament was marred by controversy,
domestic politics, and alleged interference and match-fixing by the Argentine
authoritarian military junta government. When hosts Argentina needed to beat
Peru by more than four goals to pip Brazil to head their group in the Second
Round and advance to the Final, it was more than suspicious that Argentina romped
to a 6-0 victory.
In 1982 in Spain, West Germany’s 1-0 win over Austria is
known, in German, as Nichtangriffspakt
von Gijón (literally, the Non-aggression pact) as the outcome ensured
that both teams progressed at the expense of Algeria, who had beaten West
Germany in their opening game. The alleged collusion between the teams led FIFA
to have the final games in each group kick off simultaneously thereafter to try
to avoid a repeat at future tournaments.
In the cases of both the 2018 competition in Russia and Qatar in 2022, the choice of the host nations was much criticised. The annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014 led to calls for FIFA to strip Russia of the rights to stage the tournament, while Qatar faced strong criticism for the treatment of foreign workers involved in constructing the stadiums, with concerns being raised regarding human rights abuses. There were also suggestions of bribery and corruption in the host nation selection process.
But these may be mere trifles compared with the shenanigans
surrounding the 2026 World Cup to be held in Canada, Mexico, and the USA. Even
six months before the competition kicks off in Mexico City on 11th
June 2026 when Mexico take on South Africa, there have been controversies
galore.
Ronaldo and the Suspended Suspension
While playing for Portugal in their penultimate qualifying
game against the Republic of Ireland, Christiano Ronaldo was red carded for
violent conduct, which normally carries a three-match ban. Ronaldo missed his
country’s final qualifying group game against Armenia, but that will be the
extent of his ban after FIFA decided the second and third games of his ban
would be suspended for a year, leaving him free to play in Portugal’s opening
match of the 2026 World Cup Finals.
FIFA say that their decision was reached because Ronaldo had
not received a red card in his other 225 international appearances, but more
likely stems from the fact that even at 40 years of age, Ronaldo is still big
box office, and his exclusion from Portugal’s opening matches could affect
ticket sales and deprive FIFA of one of the things they crave most – financial
reward.
The Draw
The draw for the 2026 World Cup Finals had - after much
padding - passed its ninetieth minute before a country other than one of the
three hosts had been drawn from their respective pots.
The Independent described the draw as “an utterly dismal
spectacle” and “much worse than anything that Sepp Blatter could have dreamed
up,” while BBC commentator Jonathan Pearce said of FIFA President Infantino,
that "the man knows no shame," and as proceedings dragged on, he added
"Hopefully the draw will be finished in time for the first match in
June."
No mention of the draw would be complete without reference
to…
The FIFA Peace Prize
When FIFA announced the introduction of the “FIFA Peace
Prize – Football Unites the World - to reward individuals who have taken
exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united
people across the world” (their words, not mine), it seemed to be at odds
with the organisation’s statutes, which state firmly that “FIFA remains neutral
in matters of politics and religion.”
As soon at the announcement was made it was clear that the
prize would be given to Donald Trump, and I say given to rather that won by,
since winning something expressly suggests the possibility of not winning it,
which doesn’t seem to have been the case here. FIFA announced no nominees for
the prize and FIFA’s board members say there was no vote on its recipient, with
the decision to give it to Trump made unilaterally by FIFA President Gianni
Infantino. FIFA said that the Peace Award to Donald Trump reflected the wishes
of “billions of football fans,” but I defy you to find me a fan who was asked
their opinion and I suggest that it would be a struggle to find a fan outside
the MAGA bubble who thinks that Trump deserved to be handed the shiny bauble.
FIFA have said that their Peace Prize will be an annual
award, but cynics suggest that it was created purely as a one off sop to Donald
Trump after his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize, although given FIFA’s
tone deaf reading of geopolitics, perhaps we can expect future prizes to go to
Benjamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin.
Just days after the draw – and purely coincidentally, I’m
sure - US prosecutors asked the Supreme Court to drop bribery charges against
Hernan Lopez, part of a wider probe into bribery schemes involving officials in
FIFA-affiliated regional bodies, though FIFA itself was not charged.
Ticket Prices
No major sporting event would be complete without the furore
over wildly inflated ticket prices, and this World Cup is no exception.
For the qualifying group games, tickets are priced in four
categories, with the cheapest starting at a fairly reasonable range of between
US$60 and US$105 rising to between US$410 and US$620 for Category A games. Rumour
has it, however that tickets at the lower price points are already impossible
to obtain.
As you might expect, the prices increase steeply through the
competition to an average ticket price for the final at the Giants Stadium in
New Jersey currently standing at $3,945 with the highest price coming in at
US$6,730. On average, prices are double those charged for tickets at the 2022
World Cup in Qatar.
US Visas and Electronic System for Travel Authorization
(ESTA)
A new condition that the US government is proposing would
require visitors to the US to provide their social media from the last 5 years,
plus their telephone numbers and email addresses used over the last five and ten
years respectively, and more information about their family members. The
proposal is likely to mean that applicants could face lengthy delays in
obtaining ESTA approvals, so even if fans can get tickets, they might have
issues getting into the US to use them.
The Pride Match
Before the tournament, FIFA had pencilled in the game
scheduled to take place in Seattle on 26 June as its Pride Match, with the
local organisers of Seattle Pride planning celebrations with the local LGBTQ+
community. As bad luck would have it, the draw pitted Iran against Egypt in
this fixture, two countries where such activities are culturally and
religiously incompatible. Egypt and Iran both lodged formal complaints with FIFA
regarding plans for an LGBTQ+ Pride celebration at the game, with the Egyptian football
authorities "categorically rejecting any activities related to supporting
homosexuality during the match."
FIFA are now likely to have find another fixture for their
Pride Match.
Hydration Breaks and Half-Time Entertainment
Hydration breaks in matches are nothing new, but ordinarily
they are conditional on temperatures in grounds reaching a certain level. Although
this is a good thing, The Laws of The Game state that such breaks should not
exceed one minute. For the World Cup in 2026, however FIFA have decreed that
every match will be paused for a three-minute “hydration break” in each half, justified
as being to "prioritise player welfare.” That is fooling no one; the
breaks – which in themselves are justified - will probably drag on for at least
five minutes, providing an opportunity for broadcasters to air commercials.
Then we have the half-time break in the Final. Law 7 – The
Duration of the Match – states unambiguously that “Players are entitled to
an interval at half-time, not exceeding 15 minutes.” The Final of the 2026
World Cup will be played with that law ignored or set aside as FIFA have
decided that the half-time interval will feature a music show just as American
football’s Super Bowl currently does. The 2025 Super Bowl featured a 13 minute
performance from Kendrick Lamar, but that didn’t take into account the amount
of time required to set up and then dismantle the performance area.
Regardless of how long it takes, a music show at the World
Cup Final is an unnecessary diversion and further evidence that football’s
administrators have lost sight of what is most important in the game, and
that’s the matches themselves.
Will the World Cup 2026 “Unite the World” or divide it
further? Your view is as good as mine, but one thing we can be sure of, this
will be a World Cup like no other.
